No offense if you are one of those people. A person who sends that letter. I actually enjoy reading those letters. The thing is, if I wrote one today, it would not really let you know what is going on in my life. So I sometimes try to read between the lines to try to see what's really going on in the lives of my friends and family. I mean, if I sent a letter out this year, I would rave about Jaron's love of "big school" and marvel about Madison reading the family favorite Little House books. I would describe Megan, born on Granny's birthday, and her siblings' devotion to her in excruciating detail. I would talk about Kevin and I celebrating our tenth anniversary. I might mention the dogs, cats, cattle...maybe sprinkle in a little vacation, fishing, and gardening. I would talk about little smiles that light up the county and little arms that fit perfectly around my neck.
I probably wouldn't mention that my kindergartener went to the Principal's office for neglecting to keep his hands to himself. I would not begin to get into the battle with worker's compensation we have been dealing with for the last 6 months with Kevin's back injury. I would not tell you that while having enough love for 3 kids comes more easily than I could have imagined, sometimes I think I am not as impressive as a mother of 3 as I hoped I would be. That my house has not been clean for at least 9 months or that I fell asleep feeding the baby in the early days and Madison told her teacher I did not have time to kiss her good night. I would not tell you about the time I cried when I realized Megan had outgrown her first outfit. And at the end of the first day I went without nursing her. I probably would not want to talk about the hard goodbyes that came this year. Grandad. Iris June. Scott.
I am not trying to dwell on difficult times. This is the time of year that I get painfully reflective. I have to tell you that for everything I mentioned that challenged me this year there were ten times more blessings. I have to tell you that I could not ask for a stronger network of family and friends that never hesitate to support me in all situations. This year has flown by faster than people warned me it would. So I am not writing one of those newsletters. Bloggers keep people updated on a regular basis anyway. But if I did, ten years later, it would go something like this: "I still like my husband of ten years and unto us three children have been born. We share our lives with many loving and loyal people. May God bless you and yours during this holiday season and always!" 
